| Men's marathon at the Games of the XXI Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Waldemar Cierpinski, 1976 Summer Olympics men's marathon winner | ||||||||||
| Venue | Olympic Stadium,Montreal | |||||||||
| Date | July 31, 1976 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 67 from 36 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 2:09:55OR | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Track events | ||
| 100 m | men | women |
| 200 m | men | women |
| 400 m | men | women |
| 800 m | men | women |
| 1500 m | men | women |
| 5000 m | men | |
| 10,000 m | men | |
| 100 m hurdles | women | |
| 110 m hurdles | men | |
| 400 m hurdles | men | |
| 3000 m steeplechase | men | |
| 4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
| 4 × 400 m relay | men | women |
| Road events | ||
| Marathon | men | |
| 20 km walk | men | |
| Field events | ||
| Long jump | men | women |
| Triple jump | men | |
| High jump | men | women |
| Pole vault | men | |
| Shot put | men | women |
| Discus throw | men | women |
| Javelin throw | men | women |
| Hammer throw | men | |
| Combined events | ||
| Pentathlon | women | |
| Decathlon | men | |
Themen's marathon at the1976 Summer Olympics inMontreal, Canada, was held on Saturday July 31, 1976. The race started at 17:30 local time. There were 67 competitors from 36 countries. Seven of them did not finish.[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won byWaldemar Cierpinski of East Germany, the first Olympic marathon medal by any German runner.Frank Shorter of the United States andKarel Lismont of Belgium became the third and fourth men to win a second medal in the event, each one place behind their 1972 results. Ethiopia's four-Games marathon medal streak ended, as the nation boycotted the Games.
This was the 18th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the 1972 marathon included defending championFrank Shorter of the United States, silver medalistKarel Lismont of Belgium, and eighth-place finisherJack Foster of New Zealand. Shorter had also won four consecutiveFukuoka Marathons from 1971 through 1974 and was favored in this race. Significant contenders included his countrymanBill Rodgers (1975Boston Marathon winner),Jerome Drayton of Canada (1975 Fukuoka winner), andAkio Usami (9th in 1968 and 12th in 1972) andShigeru So of Japan.Lasse Virén had just finished defending the double in the 5000 metres and 10000 metres; having never run a marathon before, he entered this event hoping to matchEmil Zátopek's 1952 triple.[2]
Bermuda, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay each made their first appearance in Olympic marathons. The United States made its 18th appearance, the only nation to have competed in each Olympic marathon to that point.
As all Olympic marathons, the competition was a single race. The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards was run over an out-and-back route.[2]
These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1976 Summer Olympics.
| World record |  Derek Clayton (AUS) | 2:08:33.6 | Antwerp,Belgium | 30 May 1969 |
| Olympic record |  Abebe Bikila (ETH) | 2:12:11.2 | Tokyo,Japan | 21 October 1964 |
Waldemar Cierpinski set a new Olympic best with 2:09:55.0.
Contrary to previous report, it did not rain throughout the race (in-person account from attendant at miles 10, 24, and 25.9). Light rain was sporadic & occasional. Temperature was about 70F (20C) at 10 mile mark near famed hockey player Maurice Richard’s house.
All times areEastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 31 July 1976 | 17:30 | Final |
